The Lincolnshire Bird Club

On walking down Algitha Road, Skegness, noticed 2 young and an adult Herring Gull wedged between the chimney pots of a large Victorian house/office block. A little further on, I was dive-bombed by a Lesser Black-backed Gull from a similar chimney stack, possibly the first confirmed records (but not the last!) of these species breeding in Skegness?

Cheers, Rob.

Good records Rob. None could be proved in the atlas period but Keith Atkin had a pair of Herring Gulls in Skeg from a bus last summer that he suspected might be breeding but he could not locate a nest from ground level. Its amazing that these birds and Lesser Black are such scarce breeders on the coast between Grimsby and Boston.

Maybe due to the decline in fish waste at our local ports they are now taking advantage of the abundant fast food discards available in town during spring and summer.

At the time of the publication of the Birds of Lincolnshire in 1989 there were no known breeding records of Lesser Black-backed Gull in Lincolnshire and only one attempted breeding by Herring Gull off North Cotes in 1945.

In the latest 3 Lincs reports there are no breeding records for either species in 2008; in 2009 a pair of Herring Gulls was recorded breeding at Freiston.
In 2010 under Lesser Black backed Gull the caption text says Increasing breeder but there is no mention of any breeding records in the text. One Herring Gull nest is noted at Gib Point.

Both species seem to be increasing as breeding birds in the county and it would be good to get the data together that will allow us to monitor their spread in the county.

Lesser Black backed Gull bred on Read’s Island in 2000 with one pair having 1+ chick. In 2011 there were 3+ nests on there and this year there looks to be 10+ pairs most with nests.

In the last three years I have noted pairs of Lesser Black backs holding territories around the clay pits and in Barton itself but have not seen any actual breeding attempts.

This spring after seeing several pairs of both Lesser Black backs and Herring Gulls around Grimsby Docks I came across a mixed colony with 7 nests of each species on one of the old piers. After checking with Ian Shepherd he confirmed that one pair of Herring Gulls have been nesting in Cleethorpes since 2002 and that there are other Herring and Lesser Black back nests on a roof in the fish docks.

So where else are they breeding in Lincs? Pairs of both species seem to be summering with increasing frequency in large towns and their nests can be easily overlooked on flat roofed buildings.

It would be good to get a summary of breeding records to date for the 2011 report.

I checked the Grimsby nests again today and found there were at least 4 broods of Lesser Black backs and 4-5 of Herring Gulls of varying ages. The oldest Herring Gull brood were able to fly but the smallest Lesser Black back brood were still downy and there were 4 birds still sitting on nests; whether these will hatch or if they are replacement clutches is not apparent at present. At least 2 pairs of Herring Gulls had young on other factory roves and there looked to be some of the roof of B & Q but difficult to see from a moving vehicle.

All breeding records including any past records would be useful for inclusion in the next bird report in order that we can document the colonisation and spread of these two specie sin the county.

Walking daily past Homebase, Grimsby on the way to work, I've noted both Herring & Lesser Black-backed Gulls there throughout the summer for a few years now. I'm confident breeding has been taking place on the roof but just cant view it to confirm.

regards

Chris

Lbbg have bred on the roof of swan house in Boston(near the railway station) in 2010, 2011 and a pair is present year too. There is also a pair this year on the roof of the old tax office which backs onto my garden.
Paul

Lesser Black-backed Gull chick confirmed on the aptly named "Tiny Tots Nursery" chimney stack, Algitha Road.